Popeater

Taylor Hanson doesn’t want to give too much away, but when Hanson reconvenes for a mammoth five-night residency at New York City’s Blender Theater at Gramercy (Apr. 26-30), the band is planning a few surprises that will hopefully include some very special guests. Unfortunately, he isn’t about to say who just yet because he doesn’t want to ruin the surprise.

“We want to make this really special for the fans,” Hanson tells PopEater of the shows, which will see the pop-rock band performing a different album from their catalogue in its entirety each night. “We are probably going to have special guests, but we’re saving that for now to keep it a surprise.”

“There are a lot of different people who have been involved in the different albums,” Hanson continues, “and in different ways. For instance, for ‘Underneath’ we worked with Matthew Sweet. We had people like Rose Stone from Sly and the Family Stone, who directed the choir on the second record. We worked with Mark Hudson, who co-wrote ‘Living on the Edge’ with Aerosmith. So, there are these different people who’ve been involved: players, writers, producers, lots of interesting people who have been involved along the way. There’s nothing official yet, but we want to make it special.”

Dubbed ‘Five of Five,’ the engagement begins with a performance of Hanson’s debut, ‘Middle of Nowhere,’ on Apr. 26, and then moves onto 2000’s ‘This Time Around’ on Apr. 27. 2004’s ‘Underneath’ follows on Apr. 28 with 2007’s ‘The Walk’ on Apr. 29. The final night is when the band unveils its new as-yet-untitled studio album. Hanson says an official announcement on the specific release date for that will follow in late January, but he confirms it will be sometime in May. “There’s lots of secrets over here,” he chuckles.

PhoenixNewTime Blog

Shut your traps, “MMMbop” haters. The Hanson trio proves they know and respect rock legends with this cover of Radiohead’s “Optimistic,” which has been recently making the rounds on the interwebs, even though it debuted on YouTube more than six months ago.

Taylor Hanson gives singer Thom Yorke a run for his money on the track, which is even more delightful considering the wild screams heard from the audience. See, we Hanson fans are a diverse crowd!

A new Hanson album will drop in May 2010, and they’ll also be playing the Bamboozle Festival, with Valley band The Maine, in New Jersey May 1. Check out the awesome cover:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upgejnlYgSE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]

Metro

This year’s Red Sox organized Hot Stove Cool Music event heats up with the very cool addition of Tinted Windows. The power pop supergroup combines the estimable talents of Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, Fountains of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger, and Hanson’s Taylor Hanson on vocals. Over the Christmas break, Metro and Hanson chatted about baseball.

“I’ll just out myself right off the bat,” Taylor says wielding a hefty pun. “I don’t follow baseball. That’s terrible, right?”

Not really. It’s better than not being a Red Sox fan in this town.

“Exactly,” Hanson laughs. “The thing is, I’ve always been athletic. I’ve always loved to play baseball and lots of sports. But keeping track of it, all the games, I can’t.”

Hanson’s slacking off is understandable, what with performing in two bands and being a father, too. When the Sox broke “The Curse” and won the World Series in 2004, however, he was paying attention.

“That was incredible to watch. Oh my God, that was incredible,” he enthuses. “I’m a huge fan of baseball as a whole. All these different parts, no player can make it about them alone. That’s what makes it an everyman sport.”

10th annual Hot Stove Cool Music
State Radio, Tinted Windows, Kay Hanley, Bronson Arroyo, and more
Saturday, 7 p.m.
House of Blues
15 Lansdowne St., Boston.
MBTA: Green Line to Kenmore
$40, all ages, 888-693-2583
www.hob.com/boston

I wasn’t going to post this snippit, from NorthJersey.com until I saw the caption of a photo about Taylor – but the photo is definitely NOT him. Check it out 😉

What we can do, however, is compare “Who I Am,” with a few other debut singles by artists who left sibling-based groups.

(Luckily for Nick, it seems you can’t always judge a solo career by its first single.)

Tinted Windows (fronted by Taylor Hanson of Hanson) — “Kind of a Girl,” 2009

Let’s be honest, this made the list only because of Hanson’s similarities to the Jonas Brothers. It’s a new band, so it’s hard to say where the pseudo-supergroup (Smashing Pumpkins, Fountains of Wayne, Cheap Trick) is going. But judging from the catchy, Weezer-meets-the-Ramones structure and the weak hook/lyrics/guitar solo, it could last a bit or just as easily be gone in an MMMbop.

Boston Herald

Ex-teenthrob Taylor Hanson of the ’90s boy band Hanson said he would not be bummed out if any of his four kids want to grow up and follow in their dad’s footsteps.

“If any of them become musicians for real, I’ll totally be happy,” said Taylor, 26, who has four kids with wife Natalie . “I want them to do whatever makes them happy.”

Hanson, who made it big with his brothers Isaac and Zac back in 1992, is headed Saturday to Boston, where he’ll be performing with his other band, Tinted Windows, at this year’s 10th Anniversary Hot Stove Cool Music concert benefit at the House of Blues .

Taylor and his bandmates – Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger, Smashing Pumpkin’s James Iha and Cheap Trick’s Bun E. Carlos – are on the bill with Red Sox [team stats] Theo Epstein at the fundraiser for Theo’s A Foundation To Be Named Later . Also taking the stage: the Hot Stove All-Stars, featuring MLB Network guru Peter Gammons, Buffalo Tom’s Bill Janovitz and Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo; Dropkick Murphys’ Ken Casey; Letters To Cleo’s Kay Hanley; and Mike O’Malley as master of ceremonies.

Hanson said he’s psyched to play with his new band, but still loves working with his brothers.

“When you’ve been in a band with anyone, regardless of whether they are your brothers, you end up with a second language,” he said. “You know what the other is going to say or do, which is in a way like a sixth sense.”

Hanson’s new CD drops this spring.

Paste Magazine

I’m about to make my annual December pilgrimage to Ikea and then peace out for two weeks of pretty intense holidaying-it-up, so let’s not mince words: Hanson’s Snowed In is the best Christmas album ever.

Perhaps you disagree. Perhaps you know of one more pious, more technically proficient, less pubescent. That’s fine. I encourage you to disagree with me. But I and my esteemed counterpart, Middle School Rachael, will not waver in our insistence of this fact.

I turned 13 the week before Snowed In came out. And that Tuesday afternoon, my mom picked me up from my after-school PSAT prep class and drove my sister and I to the mall, where we went upstairs to a record store that’s no longer there and that I no longer remember the name of, and I bought the album on cassette because I wouldn’t get a CD player of my own until that Christmas, a whole month later. And I’m sure that tape is the only thing I listened to for the next month straight. I’d probably ejected and flipped it midway about a seven hundred times before Thanksgiving even rolled around.

Continue reading →

Spinner.com

As Cain and Abel could tell you, it ain’t always easy for famous siblings to get along. Between artistic temperaments, egos, money, fame and temptation, it’s a wonder the bonds of brotherly love can ever survive rock ‘n’ roll. Here’s a ranking of our favorite brother bands — from saccharine-sweet bromance to stage-brawling near-fratricide.

Hanson

You think the Hanson brothers couldn’t get any more adorable? Well, this unreal level of brotherhood bonding puts most families to shame: At youngest brother Zac’s wedding in 2006, eldest Isaac was best man, middle bro Taylor was a groomsman, Taylor’s wife was a bridesmaid, and Taylor’s son was the ring bearer. How cute! When Taylor announced his Tinted Windows side project, the other Musketeers offered their full support, and the three have just finished a new Hanson album.
Sibling Rivalry Quotient: 0.0